Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz explained how the Formula 1 Autumn break helped him reset ahead of his emotional Mexico City Grand Prix victory.
Sainz was in unmatched form in Mexico, taking pole position and an emphatic win.
The Spaniard’s fourth F1 win came seven months after his last and in that time he’s had to watch team-mate Charles Leclerc take victories in Monaco, Monza and Austin.
Moreover, a lengthy search for a new team in 2025 and a prolonged summer period with an uncompetitive car have made 2024 a rollercoaster of a season for Sainz.
But after bouncing back in fine style in Mexico, Sainz explained what it took to get back to winning ways.
“Yeah, it’s been a strange year in that sense, and yeah, also quite a challenging one,” the outgoing Ferrari driver said post-race in Mexico City.
“The year started really well, then we went through a tough period of development, and then suddenly we managed to make the car competitive again, and I saw that winning chances were still again [available], but obviously Charles took those wins in Monza and Austin, and I felt like, yeah, ‘I also [want to win] before I leave, and I want to make that happen.
“I think it could have been quite easy for me to lose a bit of motivation and to lose a bit of the drive to make it happen, but those three weeks of break served me well.
“I managed to regain a bit of the determination and the drive that I needed for these last five, six races of the season.”
Winning Ferrari the Constructors’ title would be the perfect goodbye
Sainz explained further that the break helped him improve his “driving” and “confidence with the car, to put myself in a position to, first, win in Austin that I didn’t make it happen – Charles did a great job there – and put myself in a position to win here and this one I was just going to make sure it doesn’t slip from my hands.
“But yeah, it’s not been an easy year but I’m proud of the way that I’ve managed to keep myself in it and obviously trying to help the team now as much as I can to win [the Constructors’ title] because it would be the perfect goodbye for me.”
With Max Verstappen finishing sixth after a 20 seconds worth of penalties for clashing with Lando Norris and Sergio Perez finishing out of the points, Ferrari has surged into second in the Constructors’ standings.
The Scuderia has 537 points, 29 behind McLaren on 566 and 25 ahead of Red Bull on 512 points with four rounds remaining in 2024.
Thos four rounds will be Sainz’s last with Ferrari before departing to Williams and on Saturday he reflected on it being “bittersweet” how good the team’s form is.
“[It’s] bittersweet because it gives me a feeling Ferrari might be in the fight for the World Championship next year and I will not be there to use it,” Sainz said.
“I feel like I’ve been quite a big part of this team during the last four years trying to prepare the team to fight for that championship next year, you know, and the fact that I’m driving well, being fast with the car and I’m leaving in five races.
“It definitely leaves me a bit… I don’t know how to say it, but not with a very good feeling.”
READ MORE – Carlos Sainz wins F1 Mexico City GP, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clash again
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